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Chinese Education 

from 

The Western Viewpoint 



By 

YEN SUN HO 

M. A. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 



RAND McNALLY & COMPANY 
CHICAGO NEW YORK 



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Copyright, igij, by 
Rand, McNally & Company 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. Introductory Note 5 

11. Education before the Chow Dynasty 9 

III. Education during the Chow Dynasty 14 

IV. The Appointment System . . .29 

V. The Examination System . . -34 

VI. New Chinese Education .... 42 

VII. Educational Changes under the 

RepubHcan Regime .... 69 

VIII. Final Considerations 75 

Bibliography 90 



I 

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

T^HE following pages contain a general 
survey of the educational develop- 
ment of China up to the present time. 
This is, as far as the writer's knowledge 
goes, a pioneer work and, as such, 
contains probably many errors. He has 
tried, however, to be accurate through- 
out in the selection of material and the 
translation of original sources. 

The occidental students of educational 
history generally have a hazy and in- 
adequate idea of what the term " Chinese 
education'* really connotes. Some speak 
of the examination system, which forms 
but a link in the whole chain of the 
educational development of China, as 
though it constituted the whole history 
of Chinese education. While it is true 
that old Chinese education since the 
founding of the Appointment System 



6 CHINESE EDUCATION 

had been of a humanistic type, it does 
not follow, as Professor Monroe dogmat- 
ically asserts, that Chinese literature 
is so inferior to the occidental classical 
literature that "when the general results 
upon intellectual life and social develop- 
ment are considered, there is little basis 
for comparison."^ If Chinese literature 
has not produced great results upon 
social and intellectual life, it has been 
due not to its lack of content-value 
but to the emphasis laid upon its formal 
side. To look for real Chinese literature 
under the old system of education would 
be like the attempt to discover the 
real Aristotle in the period of scholasti- 
cism in European history. Monroe also 
states, in reference to the content of 
Chinese education, that in studying the 
teachings of Chinese literature "the 
principle is seldom discovered on account 
of the precepts." 2 He would reduce 

1 Monroe, Paul. History of Education, p. 43. 
^ Ihid., p. 20. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 7 

the literature of China to a mere body 
of recipes and prescriptions. In support 
of his assertions, he cites a few passages 
from Li Ki, one of the thirteen classics, 
but does not seem to know that the book 
he quotes from is especially intended 
to be a book of "Don'ts." One is not 
justified in making a generalization out 
of a single instance. 

I have no intention to engage in a 
polemic against Professor Monroe, but 
wish to point out the fact that the 
aim and content of old Chinese education 
has not been taken at its true value 
In this paper I have endeavored to take 
an objective attitude toward the sub- 
ject and to reduce the personal element 
to a minimum. Some errors, I hope, 
may be thus avoided. 

The old education, too antiquated 
and defective to meet the needs of the 
modem man, has been discarded once 
for all, and in the effort to reorganize 
her educational system, China has much 



8 CHINESE EDUCATION 

to learn from the Occident. It is for this 
reason that the whole subject has been 
treated from the western viewpoint, that 
is, with the view to discovering points of 
resemblance and contrast between occi- 
dental and Chinese education. 



II 

EDUCATION BEFORE THE CHOW 
DYNASTY 

(2357-1 122 B.C.) 

TDEFORE the time of Confucius (552- 
449 B.C.) the wisdom of Chinese 
antiquity had built up settled principles 
as to education, and these settled prin- 
ciples had been handed down from 
generation to generation for hundreds 
of years, taught by father to son, and 
regarded as the highest wisdom. 

The substance of these principles was 
that virtue is built up not so much 
through good statutes as by means of 
right customs and pious habits. Here 
imitation plays an important role. The 
ancients in China said that men naturally 
and unconsciously mold their lives accord- 
ing to the models they admire. A 
state is in a bad condition when it has 
to resort to legal enactments to hold 



lo CHINESE EDUCATION 

back vice and crime. They said that 
wise magistrates would not post up long 
proclamations and elaborate decrees in 
public places, but would rather see to it 
that the people have a love for justice 
and that honesty is firmly rooted in 
their minds. Natural sentiments are 
exalted above legal restraints. It is 
ineffective to try to reform a people by 
hedging them about with burdensome 
police regulations. Laws were in danger 
of degenerating into mere dead letters 
unless the people, for the control of 
I whom they are designed, have been 
I properly trained and bred to a strict 
' obedience and respect thereto. 

With these preliminary remarks, the 
aim of Chinese education in this period 
becomes obvious. Briefly stated, it was 
to give the people such training and 
discipline, both by word of mouth and 
by living examples, as to enable them 
to live the right kind of life and to be 
good citizens. Education was regarded 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT ii 

as the least expensive but the most 
effective means of social control. This 
aim is, to be sure, a narrow one. But 
that it was understood in that remote 
age is a significant fact. May we not 
regard it as an adimibration of the 
truth embodied in the modem systems 
of national education, which was first 
perceived in the Occident by a few 
great minds, as, for example, "the 
Early American settlers, who feared 
lest good learning should be buried in 
the graves of their fathers, and who 
held a simple faith in the divine efficacy 
of education with the same earnestness 
that they cherished their religion; and 
Luther who held it the first duty of 
citizens to educate their children; Knox, 
too, the father of Scotch education; 
and Mulcaster, the great English school- 
master."^ 

The curriculum was determined by 
this practical and ethical aim. History 

1 Hughes, R. E. The Making oj Citizens, p. 3. 



/I 



12 CHINESE EDUCATION 

records that the Emperor Shun (2357- 
2206 B.C.) appointed Chi Minister of 
Teaching to superintend the teaching 
of what ought to be translated as the 
*'Five Humanities."^ These are the 
ethical principles that should govern five 
relations in old Chinese society, namely, 
those between father and son, king and 
subject, husband and wife, old and 
young, and friend and friend. These 
relations are respectively love, righteous- 
ness, attention to their honors, respect, 
and sincerity. The idea was that with 
these principles inculcated in the minds of 
the people, social stability was secured. 
As to the organization of the schools, 
we have no sufficient data to enable us 
to arrive at any definite conclusion. 
Education was yet in its rudimentary 
stage. The name for the common school 
during the Hsia Dynasty (2205-1766 
B.C.) was Si Haii, which was later 
changed to Tso Hsioh in the Yin Dynasty 

1 Giles, H. A. Chinese Four Books. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 13 

(1766-1122 B.c.).^ This brief survey pre- 
pares us for a study of the education in 
the next period, the Chow Dynasty. 

1 Giles, H. A. Ancient History or Shu Classic. 



Ill 

EDUCATION DURING THE CHOW 
DYNASTY 

(1122-249 B.C.) 

Tyl7E ARE now entering upon a period 
which the Chinese regard as the 
Golden Age in their history. It was 
marked by great changes in the various 
departments of life. Great advance 
was made in different directions, in 
science, education, philosophy, and the 
like. Indeed, it was in that age that 
Chinese culture reached the highest 
development that it has ever attained: 
hence the constant reference to the 
Chow Dynasty in the writings of Chinese 
writers. Here our interest is limited to 
the educational aspect. The education 
in this period has never been touched 
upon by foreign writers on Chinese 
education, not even by Professor Monroe 
in his History of Education. Hence it is 

14 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 15 

with the view of supplying this deficiency 
that this chapter is written. 

Ai7n. The aim of education in this 
period was, as might be expected, a 
further development of that in the 
preceding one. It was still social and 
ethical, but its broad and much more 
liberal character admits of a variety 
of subjects of instruction of which the 
preceding period had not the remotest 
hint. Confucius speaks of this period 
as an age of refinement a-nd culture.^ 
It was really the Periclean Age in Chinese 
history. It might be said that here we 
have the first attempt made to secure 
what is now known as a liberal education, 
as we shall see when we turn to consider 
the content. 

Content, The curriculum of the lower 
schools consisted of reading, music, poetry, 
calisthenics, and ethical training, while 
that of schools of a higher grade (cor- 
responding to the present-day colleges) 

1 Giles, H. A. Chinese Four Books. 



i6 CHINESE EDUCATION 

embraced what may be called the "Six 
Liberal Arts." They were (i) the five 
ceremonies, (2) the six kinds of music, 
(3) the five kinds of archery, (4) the 
five kinds of chariot driving, (5) the six 
kinds of writing, and (6) the nine kinds 
of mathematics.^ Here the content of 
education reminds one of the Trivium 
and the Quadrivium, or of ''the rudi- 
ments of love, of war, and of religion" 
which formed the educational ideal in 
the age of chivalry. It was a com- 
bination of the Spartan and Athenian 
ideals, intellectual and aesthetic elements 
mingled with a considerable amount of 
military and physical training. How- 
ever far short of the ideal this may fall, 
it can hardly be gainsaid that here we 
have a manifest endeavor to secure an 
harmonious and symmetrical develop- 
ment of body and mind, so characteristic 
of the Athenian education. Moreover, 
we find here a dim realization of the 

1 Chou Li, one of the thirteen classics. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 17 

fact that education must be brought 
close to Hfe, and conceived as a training 
for the activities of everyday life. 

One will appreciate this educational 
ideal all the more when he comes 
to consider the succeeding periods of 
Chinese education, where, as we shall 
see later, education becomes a rigid, 
cast-iron system of mere intellectual 
training or discipline to the utter neglect 
of the physical aspect of instruction. 

The organization of the schools was 
quite akin to the township plan so 
ardently desired by the veteran educators 
in the United States of America. The area 
of the unit was about thirty-three square 
miles; about the same as the township in 
America, covering an area of thirty-six 
square miles. The principle of subdivision 
within this basic unit was determined by 
the number of families.^ There were 
usually different kinds of schools in each 
unit district. Thus, for example, the pupil 

1 Chou Li, one of the thirteen classics. 
2 



i8 



CHINESE EDUCATION 



went first to a school for the children of 
twenty-five families. Finishing instruc- 
tion here he went, or rather was promoted, 
to a higher school, covering a larger area, 
that is, for a larger number of families 
than the one he just left, until he reached 
the top school for the whole district. 
The author of the Chou Li, one of 
the thirteen classics, gave the average 
nimiber of common schools (the lowest 
grade) for one feudal state as three 
thousand. This system can be seen 
clearly in the following table, which is 
taken from the figures of Professor 
C. Y. Wang of the Peking University. 



Table showing the School Districts of Chow 



Name of District 


Number 

of 
Families 


Name of Schools 


Number 


Inside 
of Capital 


Outside 
of Capital 


Inside 
of Capital 


Outside 
of Capital 


of 
Schools 


Lu 

Choo 
Tang 
Chow 
Village 


Li 

{T 

Hsien 
Sui 


25 

100 

500 

2,500 

12,500 


LuShu 

Tang Chu 
Chow Chu 
Village 
Shiang 


Lu Shu 

Pi* Chu" 
Hsien Chu 
Sui Shiang 


3,000 

150 

30 

6 



See Note, p. 19. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 19 

In the districts those graduates from the 
top schools who proved worthy of further 
development were sent to what were called 
"National Colleges" within the capital. 
Here they continued their education until 
they reached the stage where they were 
fitted to enter governmental service. 

Such is a general survey of education 
in this period. For lack of sufficient 
data we are not able to go into the 
minute details. But even this general 
treatment gives us a glimpse of the 
education in that age. This treatment, 
however, would not be complete if we 
omit the education of Confucius, which 
we shall consider in the following section. 

Educational Theory of Confucius 

Confucius was the one great educator 
that China has produced. He had in- 

Note: Inside the capital the families were grouped 
in fives called Be; five Bes (25 families) formed one Lu, 
four Lus (100 families) one Choo, five Choos (500 families) 
one Tang, five Tangs (2,500 families) one Chow, five 
Chows (12,500 families) a village. Outside of the capital 
the names of the family groups were different, but the 
number in each subdivision was the same. 



20 CHINESE EDUCATION 

tended to be a statesxnan and to embody 
his political ideals in some one of those 
nimierous states, during that age of feu- 
dalism. After many years of traveling 
and repeated failures, he returned to his 
native home, in the province of Shang- 
tang, to devote the remainder of his life 
to the great work of teaching and writ- 
ing. He established a school on the bank 
of Chu Se (River) . He had gathered around 
him three thousand pupils, seventy-two 
of whom became distinguished scholars, 
and some were later canonized. 

In his teaching he adopted the six 
arts that were used in his age. He was 
very fond of music, which he regarded as 
the chief means of moral training. His 
conception of music is similar to the 
Greek idea of ''purgation.'* ''Music," he 
says, "is the great elevating and quick- 
ening influence, and stimulates to the 
activity of the highest part of man's 
nature."^ He also participated in the 

1 Giles, H. A. Confucian Analects. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 21 

prevalent military arts of his age, espe- 
cially archery, — a fact which gives evi- 
dence of his appreciation of the physical 
element in education. 

But his great contribution to Chinese 
education consisted not so much in his 
making extensive use of the so-called 
"Six Liberal Arts" as in his editing and 
collating what later came to be known 
as the "Five Classics." To this niimber 
eight more were added by his followers, 
making in all thirteen classics. These 
classics formed the bulk of the content 
of Chinese education in subsequent times. 
As we have already seen, there is very 
little of the intellectual or literary ele- 
ment in the "Six Liberal Arts." The 
deficiency was supplied by the addition 
of these classics. 

We will now turn to consider some of 
his teachings relating to education that 
have significance for all time. His is an 
essentially moral conception of educa- 
tion. The purpose of education is to 



22 CHINESE EDUCATION 

develop oneself into a man of virtue and 
culture. "A gem un wrought serves no 
useful end, so men untaught will never 
know what right conduct is." In the 
' ' Great Doctrine ' ' he says : ' ' It matters 
not what our position in life may be — it 
is alike the duty of all to regard self- 
cultivation as the root. But if the root 
be disordered how can we possibly expect 
the branches to flourish, or that he, who 
neglects that which is of primary impor- 
tance, will give due weight to secondary 
matters which may proceed from it?'* 
This self -development, however, does 
not prevent one from helping to develop 
others. ''The man," he says, ''who 
practices the principle of love, wishing 
to establish himself, seeks also to estab- 
lish others; wishing to develop himself, 
he seeks to develop others."^ Thus 
the individual and the social factors are 
provided for. 

In his conception of education he seeks 

1 Giles, H. A. Conjucian A nalects. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 23 

to recognize the importance of studying 
natural phenomena. "Thus we have 
an example of the order in which our 
studies ought to be arranged, — first, 
deep investigation into the nature of all- 
things, giving us knowledge; knowledge, 
giving rise to fixed principles ; fixed prin- 
ciples, to virtuous action."^ 

It might prove of interest to the reader 
to note some of the aphorisms of Con- 
fucius concerning instruction and study- 
in general. That he grasped the signifi- 
cance of reasoning on the part of the 
pupil in the learning process is shown in 
the statement that "when a man has 
been helped round one comer of a square 
(meaning here subject) , and cannot man- 
age by himself to get round the other 
three, he is unworthy of further assist- 
ance.'* Concerning study he addressed 
his students thus: "Study as if you 
could never reach the point you seek to 
attain, and hold on to all you have 

1 Giles, H. A. Chinese Four Books, 



24 CHINESE EDUCATION 

learned as if you feared to lose it." On 
self-cultivation he had this to say, 
namely, that "The cultivator of the soil 
may have his fill of good things, but the 
cultivator of the mind will enjoy a con- 
tinual feast. "^ 

So much for the educational theory of 
Confucius. We shall now proceed to a con- 
sideration of the conception of education 
of Mencius, the most important repre- 
sentative of the Confucian school, and 
a contemporary of Plato and Aristotle. 

Educational Theory of Mencius 

(372-289 B.C.) 

Mencius* conception of the purpose 
of education is much the same as that of 
Confucius. Emphasis is laid upon the 
moral element. ''There is a way with 
men: enough to eat, warm clothing, com- 
fortable residences, without education, 
make them like beasts."^ Education is 

1 Giles, H. A. Chinese Four Boohs. 
'■^ Giles, H. A. The Work of Mencius. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 25 

not a suppression but a drawing-out. 
"He who seeks to subjugate men by- 
goodness will never succeed in subju- 
gating them. He who educates them by 
goodness will bring the whole realm 
into subjection." It is through moral 
suasion that a love for and joy in the 
good is aroused. Personal example is 
regarded by him as an important factor 
in education. The personal example of 
those in authority is a most impressive 
teaching for the people, who follow it as 
children like to imitate what they see in 
adults. It is for the maintenance of the 
life of the state that propriety and edu- 
cation are of special importance. ''The 
misfortune of a state is not that its 
walls and fortifications are incomplete, 
and its armies and armor are not abun- 
dantly forthcoming; the injury of a state 
is not that its fields are not increased 
and its possessions are not accumulating. 
If the upper classes have no propriety 
and the lower no education, — the final 



26 CHINESE EDUCATION 

catastrophe is not far off."^ Here we 
have a distinctly moral conception of 
education. It is raoral, however, not in 
the narrow sense of the cultivation of 
one's own virtue only, but in the broader 
sense that education promotes the na- 
tional life and social harmony through 
the development of the individual. All 
scholars were expected to fulfill social 
obligations. 

The method of education which Men- 
cius suggests is fivefold. "The moral 
man," he says, ''teaches in five ways, 
(i) There are some he influences, like a 
timely rain; (2) with some he perfects 
their virtue; (3) with some he brings 
out their talents ; (4) of some he answers 
the questions; (5) some he teaches pri- 
vately. These are the five methods 
which the moral man uses in teaching."^ 
Every teacher with a moral purpose will 
influence his pupils in various ways, each 

1 Giles, H. A. The Work of Mencius. 
•' Ibid. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 27 

according to his individuality. Of these 
five classes of students, the first, thor- 
oughly awake to instruction, receive it 
eagerly and joyously; the second have 
more aptitude for the ethical, and yield 
themselves to right guidance; the third 
have a special inclination for this or that 
theoretical or practical department, and 
press on in that direction ; the fourth are 
intellectual, critical natures, who require 
answers to their questions, lest, through 
suppressed doubts, they should end in 
uncertainty; the fifth are those who 
specially attach themselves to the mas- 
ter and allow themselves to be urged on 
by him. 

Instruction gives ideas, but not the 
ability to carry them out. "The joiner 
and wheelwright can give a man the 
compass and square but cannot make 
him skillful with them." ^ Thus in teach- 
ing there must be a correspondence 
between the ability of the teacher and 

J Giles, H. A. The Work of Mencius. 



28 CHINESE EDUCATION 

the willingness and ability of the scholar 
in order to reach the highest result. 

About the time of Mencius there had 
arisen various schools of Philosophy, 
thirteen in all, contending with each other 
for supremacy. Upon the accession of 
theTsin Dynasty (231-201 B.C.), through 
lack of successors they gradually disap- 
peared. A memorable act during this 
period was the burning of all the ancient 
books, including those of Confucius, by 
order of Emperor Shi Hwang Ti. He 
also caused many of the scholars, four 
hundred and sixty, it is said, to be buried 
alive. The system of education of the 
preceding period came at this time to 
an end, and with the accession of the 
Han Dynasty (201 B.C.) we have a new 
system coming into existence, namely, 
the Appointment System. 



IV 

THE APPOINTMENT SYwSTEM 

T^HEN the Han Dynasty arose, an 
official presented a memorial to the 
first Emperor Kao-Ti requesting that the 
old system of education be restored. To 
which the emperor replied. *'I have no 
need for learning. I got the empire on 
horseback."^ But the official retorted, 
''Could you control the empire on horse- 
back?'* The emperor was thus brought 
to realize the importance of education, 
and ordered a search to be made for old 
manuscripts. Accordingly, a great zeal 
was displayed on the part of the scholars 
in searching for the lost writings — a 
situation which finds a modem parallel 
in the archaeological research and not 
unlike the zeal manifested in the Renais- 
sance period in European history. The 
retentive brains of old scholars were 

1 Williams, S. W. Middle Kingdom, 1883. 
29 



30 CHINESE EDUCATION 

ransacked for portions of the classics 
which they might have committed to 
m.emory. Old walls were razed to see if 
old books were concealed therein. Many 
works were thus recovered, though some 
of them were in a mutilated condition. 
Following the recovery of the old writ- 
ings, there came, as might be expected, 
a group of commentators whose work 
it was to edit and comment upon the 
newly recovered works. This task occu- 
pied the attention of the scholar class 
for nearly two centuries. Evidently the 
encouragement given to this kind of 
work by the emperors put a premium 
upon forgery. This being a question of 
higher criticism, we shall be excused from 
discussing it in this paper. 

Notwithstanding the zeal manifested 
in the attempt to recover old classics, the 
age of national training had passed 
beyond return. The system of common 
schools maintained by the state was 
gone, and displaced by such private 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 31 

schools as private individuals thought 
it profitable to establish. In place of 
education for all we have a few colleges 
in the capital for mature scholars. 

The new system that came into being 
is known as the Appointment System, 
so called from the fact that officials 
below the rank of the prefect were first 
appointed by provincial authorities, the 
appointments being sent to the emperor 
for his approval. This system, as the 
reader will observe, was a complete 
reversal of the preceding one, under 
which officials were selected from schools. 
And it was this fact which accounted for 
the disappearance of public education, 
since there was no great need for it. 

In the reign of Wu Ti (139-54 B.C.), the 
originator of this system, an edict was 
issued instructing the civil authorities in 
different parts of the empire to report to 
the emperor the names of scholars who were 
qualified to study at the great colleges in 
the capital as a preparation for civil life. 



32 CHINESE EDUCATION 

Thus education was made to prepare 
men not for practical, everyday life but 
for the narrow official career. This 
ideal, which finds no parallel in the his- 
tory of education, dominated the Chinese 
mind until but a few years ago. Indus- 
trial pursuits came to be looked upon 
with disdain, as unworthy of a scholar. 
The highest ideal that parents could hold 
up to their sons was official life. The 
result was a literary aristocracy. 

The content of education was limited 
to old classics. Not the semblance of 
liberal education was retained. It was 
in the same reign that Confucianism 
was made the state philosophy, and the 
other systems of thought that originated 
during the preceding dynasty were ex- 
cluded. This is a significant fact from 
the point of view of its bearing upon the 
future development of Chinese education. 
For from this time on Confucianism was 
made the basis of Chinese education, that 
is, the educational content was confined 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 33 

to the five classics. The Confucian Hter- 
ature would be of some practical use if 
its content were emphasized as against 
its mere form. Since the latter was 
stressed, Confucianism in Chinese edu- 
cation is similar to " Ciceronianism " in 
the history of European education. 

However, in justice to this system of 
training it should be said that its most 
distinguishing feature is the emphasis 
laid on moral character. Oftentimes it 
was those noted for such virtues as filial 
piety, integrity, and the like, rather than 
those merely possessing good scholar- 
ship, that were recommended to study 
in the great colleges. A premium was 
thus put on character as against mere 
scholarship. 

This system prevailed until the seventh 
century, when it was displaced by the 
system of Competitive Examination — a 
topic to which we shall direct out atten- 
tion in the next section. 



V 

THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM 

nPHIS system was set in operation 
by Emperor Tai Chung of the Tang 
Dynasty in 631 a.d. So much has been 
written by students of Chinese literature 
concerning its nature that this paper 
shall be confined only to the salient 
points, and then pass to its evaluation 
in order to show its significance for, and 
bearing upon, present-day educational 
problems. 

Viewed from the standpoint of the 
complexity of its machinery, this system 
stood as a monument to the ingenuity of 
its founder. Its ramifications extend to 
every nook and corner of the country. 
In each district there were two resident 
examiners, with the title of professor, 
whose duty it was to keep a record of all 
competing students, and to exercise them 
from time to time in order to stimulate 

34 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 35 

their efforts and keep them ready for the 
higher examinations in which degrees 
were conferred. In each province there 
was one chancellor or superintendent of 
instruction, who held office for three 
years, and was required to visit every 
district and hold the customary exami- 
nations within that time, conferring 
the first degree — Siu-Tsai, or ''Budding 
Talent" — on one per cent of the candi- 
dates. The trial for the second degree — 
Chu-yin, or "Deserving of Promotion" 

— was held triennially in the capital of 
each province by special examiners 
deputed from the capital, generally mem- 
bers of the Hanlin Academy. It con- 
sisted of three sessions of three days each, 
making nine days of continuous exertion 

— a strain to the mental and physical 
powers to which the aged and infirm 
frequently succimibed. Again one per 
cent were decorated. The examination 
for the third degree — Tsin-Shi, or "Fit 
for Office" — was held within the palace 



36 CHINESE EDUCATION 

and in the presence of the emperor. A 
score of the best of the successful candi- 
dates were admitted to membership in 
the Hanhn Academy, two or three score 
were attached to it as pupils or proba- 
tioners, and the rest were drafted off to 
official posts in the capital or in the 
provinces. 

Having thus completed our survey of 
this institution, we shall now proceed to 
evaluate it, and try to bring out its points 
of strength and weakness. 

The system, while responsible for many 
of the shortcomings of Chinese educa- 
tion, possessed several features that were 
worthy of commendation. In the first 
place, the whole system was based on the 
principle that education was primarily 
a discipline, the so-called "dogma of 
formal discipline." Students of the his- 
tory of education will find here a close 
analogy to the disciplinary conception of 
education as first explicitly formulated 
by Locke. It is interesting to note that 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 37 

there is to-day in the pedagogic world a 
reaction against the conception of edu- 
cation as interest, and an effort to secure 
a harmonization of interest with effort 
in education. The doctrine of interest 
turned loose upon the world since the 
time of Herbart was responsible for what 
is known as ''soft pedagogy," — that 
namby-pamby sort of education so con- 
spicuous by its presence in many of the 
modern schools. The opportunities af- 
forded by the system under considera- 
tion for developing effort, the ability to 
tackle difficulties through the rigid lin- 
guistic training, have therefore a meaning 
for the present-day educational problems. 
Another commendable feature of this 
system was its democratic character. 
The examinations were open to all classes 
of people. Any man, in whatever sta- 
tion of life he might be bom, might aspire 
to the highest ofhce in the government, 
excepting, of course, that of the emperor. 
This accounts for the absence in China of 



38 CHINESE EDUCATION 

any bureaucracy that approximates to 

I that in England or Japan, and for the 

I fact that so many of the high officials 

\ rose from humble walks of life. In this 

respect, therefore, it was akin to the 

modem ideal of equal opportunity in 

education. Every student of educational 

affairs realizes how far we are yet from 

that goal. The Gymnasium of Germany 

and the Lycee of France are class schools. 

The lack of equal opportunity for all in 

education gives rise to the cry for the 

Einheitschule — one school for all — in 

the former country. 

Finally, this system proved to be an 
effectual means of securing the tran- 
quillity of the public. The safety valve 
of society, it provided a vent for that 
ambition and energy which would other- 
wise burst forth in civil strife and bloody 
revolution. 

Having seen the lights of this picture, 
let us now turn to its shades. The 
greatest evil of this system was that it 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 39 

provided no room for individual varia- 
tion. It helped to create types rather 
than individuals. In the essays pre- 
sented by candidates for degrees, a cast- 
iron, prescribed form is observed. Mere 
rhetorical effect was aimed at. If edu- 
cation is a drawing-out process, a means 
of developing originality of thought, 
inventiveness, and adaptability, the sys- 
tem under consideration is as far from 
realizing the true educational ideal as 
the South Pole is from the North. One 
might call it a rigid, narrow scheme of 
scholasticism. The blind deference to 
authority makes any striking out on new 
paths a sin. All knowledge is stored up 
in the repository of the past; there is no 
terra incognita. No wonder that Chinese 
thought furnishes a most striking case 
of arrested development. But our pur- 
pose is not so much to condemn it as to 
take to heart the solemn lesson it teaches. 
It is commonly admitted that in certain 
countries — as, for example, France — 



40 CHINESE EDUCATION 

the conception of education as develop- 
ment or self-realization is as yet far from 
realized. Another serious defect of the 
Examination System was its remoteness 
from life. It is true that it did succeed 
in creating for China a number of men 
endowed with good sense, ripeness of 
judgment, and ability to cope with vari- 
ous situations in life. But this is true 
only of the very few successful candi- 
dates; the unsuccessful usually form an 
educational proletariat — a class of intel- 
lectual paupers. Once a man decides upon 
the literary career, all other careers are 
closed to him. He knows nothing about 
real life beyond the ability to versify, or 
to write up an elaborately embellished es- 
say. The absence of ' ' real ' ' studies makes 
him a stranger to the varied world in 
which he lives. The scholars are usually 
spoken of, by way of ridicule, as lacking 
in the knowledge of the distinction be- 
tween common natural objects as, for 
instance, that between rice and wheat. 
The consideration of these defects 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 41 

reminds us of the fact that education 
must be brought close to life — a fact 
which forms an important topic for dis- 
cussion in the educational world to-day. 
One might mention only the agitation 
for vocational training and vocational 
guidance, and the stress laid on content 
studies, as opposed to mere formal 
studies, as striking examples or expres- 
sions of the universal protest against 
divorcing education from life. The mod- 
ern tendency is to socialize education, 
that is, to conceive of education as a 
preparation for the activities of life 
rather than as a mere luxtiry for a few 
literary aristocrats. 

Thus far we have been considering 
what may be called old Chinese educa- 
tion. Through contact with western 
nations and the repeated himiiliations 
China suffered, she was brought to 
realize that a radical change in her edu- 
cational system was necessary for her 
self-preservation. This fact accounts for 
the rise of the new education in China. 



VI 

NEW CHINESE EDUCATION i 

T^HE first modern school was estab- 
lished in China in 1862, two years 
after the treaty of Tientsin, with the 
appellation Tung Wen Kuan. Since 
then there has come a great zeal or pas- 
sion for the ''new learning." People 
became intoxicated with it, as with new 
wine. Schools teaching western learning 
sprang up like mushrooms. There was 
such a fascination about the whole move- 
ment that the best parallel to it in Eu- 
ropean history would probably be the 
passion for Greek and Latin li-terature in 
the period of the Renaissance. In place 
of the old Board of Rites, or Li Boo, there 
has come the Board of Education. The 
Chinese Educational Mission in the 



iThis section is based on the monograph, "The Edu- 
cational System of China recently constructed," by 
H. E. King, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 
191 1, No. 15. 

42 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 43 

United States oi Amenca was established 
in 1872, and has continued to be active. 
The movement, however, was checked 
for a short time by the coup d'etat of 1898. 
But after the Boxer trouble in 1900 it 
resumed its usual vigor, and has ever 
since gone on with ever increasing 
momentum. In 1905 the old system of 
competitive examinations was abolished 
with one stroke of the "vermilion pencil " 
— a memorable event in the educational 
history of China. With it there came 
a complete system of modern education, 
organized on modern lines. 

The subject of the new educational 
system will be best treated by considering 
its various parts separately. The part 
that will first occupy our attention is the 
primary school system. 

I. Primary Education 

The elementary schools are divided into 
two grades, the lower primary and the 
higher primary, as in France, Germany, 



44 CHINESE EDUCATION 

and England. Sometimes the two are 
combined in one school, called a higher- 
lower primary. 

There has not been coeducation m 
China, as in occidental countries. This 
does not imply, however, that to the 
girls was not given the same educational 
opportunity as to the boys. The differ- 
ence is only one of form rather than of 
spirit, that is, they are educated in dif- 
ferent schools, while the course of study 
is identical in both cases. 

Lower primary schools, having a course 
of five years, are open to boys six years 
old. These schools are classified as 
government, public, and private schools. 
The government proposed to establish 
in each Hsien^ at least two of these so- 
called government lower primary schools, 
and one such school in each town. The 
funds for these government schools are 
to be supplied by the local magistrate. 
The public lower primary schools are 

1 Hsien corresponds to the township of America. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 45 

such as have been established and organ- 
ized according to the regulations of the 
Ministry of Education for lower primary 
schools, and are being supported by con- 
tributions that formerly were used for 
other purposes, such as theatricals. These 
contributions may be turned into a per- 
manent endowment. Any private school 
supported by any individual, if it has an 
enrollment of over thirty boys and con- 
forms to the regulations made by the 
government, may be placed under gov- 
ernment control, — in this case, under 
the control and supervision of the local 
magistrate. All schools are to be estab- 
lished by sanction of the local magistrate, 
and without his sanction no school is to 
be closed. The magistrate is expected 
to do all in his power to encourage such 
schools. Should he be negligent in these 
duties, and should it be reported to the 
central government, he may be degraded 
or cashiered. If, on the contrary, he is 
faithful, and shows discretion in the 



46 CHINESE EDUCATION 

choice of assistants to help him in 
securing the estabHshment of schools, he 
is usually promoted. 

The program of study extends through 
five years, and embraces eight subjects, 
as given below: 

c u •^r.^c Number of hours 

Subjects ^ ^^^^ 

Ethics 2 

Chinese classics 12 

Chinese literature 4 

Mathematics 6 

History i 

Science i 

Geography i 

Drill 3 

Total : 30 

It was discovered that this program 
failed to yield the desired results. Among 
the complaints offered against such a 
course of study were these, that it con- 
tained too many subjects and that the 
number of hours of study was too 
limited. Accordingly the Ministry of 
Education sent in a memorial on May 15, 
1909, asking that the program of study 
be altered so as to. make it adapted to 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 47 

the needs of the students. The request 
was granted on the same day. An edict 
was issued to the effect that each school 
should have at least thirty pupils, and 
that there should be offered two courses 
of study, one a complete course and the 
other a much easier course. The com- 
plete course remains the same as the old. 
In the easy course, history, geography, 
and natural science are not to be studied 
as subjects, and in their place music 
is added and drawing is made optional. 
In case a pupil who has completed a short 
course wishes to enter the higher primary 
school he must make up all the work 
required in the complete course before 
he enters. The number of years may 
also be shortened from five to three 
in the easy course. After completing 
the lower primary course of study, stu- 
dents may enter the higher primary. 
The course is limited to four years of 
thirty-six-hour recitations per week. 
These schools may be established in any 



48 CHINESE EDUCATION 

city, town, or village. In every Hsien 
there must be one government higher 
primary school. The regulations that 
govern the establishment of private 
higher primary schools are the same as 
those that control the lower primary. 
The nine subjects taught during the four 
years embrace the following: 

Subjects Hours 

Morals 2 

Chinese literature 8 

Chinese classics 12 

Mathematics 3 

Science 2 

Chinese history 2 

Geography 2 

Drawing 2 

Physical drill 3 

Total 36 

It will be seen that here, as in the pri- 
mary, the humanistic or classical element 
predominated — a relic of the old system 
of education. The greater portion of 
the time, twenty out of thirty-six hours, 
is given to the study of Chinese classics 
and literature. That this arrangement of 
subjects of instruction is unsatisfactory 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 49 

is obvious enough. They are not corre- 
lated in such a way as to secure many- 
sidedness. 

As has been said, these schools, both 
lower and higher primary, are placed 
under the control of the local magistrate. 
The regulations for schools recommend 
that the principal of primary schools 
should be a normal graduate, but, 
knowing that there is not a sufficient 
niunber of such graduates to man the 
schools, permit any one reputed to be a 
good manager to be employed tempora- 
rily as principal. The principal and his 
teachers are not allowed to leave their 
posts, nor to have any other occupation 
outside of the school, except by permis- 
sion of the magistrate. Reports of the 
primary schools are to be made at 
the end of the second term, stating the 
nxmiber of teachers, assistants, students, 
and graduates, and given to the local 
magistrate, who will forward them to 
the viceroy or governor of the province, 



go CHINESE EDUCATION 

and he in turn will forward them to the 
Ministry of Education. 

Here we have a sort of educational 
hierarchy — a system based evidently on 
the centralized systems of Germany and 
France rather than upon the decentral- 
ized system of the United States of 
America. All the textbooks used in 
the primary schools must be approved 
by the Ministry of Education. The 
aim here, as in Germany and France, is 
to secure absolute uniformity in school 
curricula. The higher primary school 
finds its prototype in France and Ger- 
many. But while in these countries the 
higher primary school is intended as a 
class school, — that is, for those who 
are unable to receive higher education, 
chiefly because of financial reasons, and 
have to engage in commercial and mer- 
cantile pursuits very early in life, — in 
China it forms a necessary connecting 
link between primary and secondary 
education. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 51 

The school buildings are largely con- 
verted from public buildings, private 
temples, and nunneries. It is required 
that these buildings are to consist of 
one story and contain recitation rooms 
and a large public room where all the 
pupils may assemble for public services. 
Dormitories are not at first to be required, 
but later on they may be built to accom- 
modate boys from country villages some 
distance from the school. All schools 
are to provide drill grounds, and the 
compound is to be sufficiently large to 
accommodate all buildings without 
crowding. 

While the establishment of the primary 
schools has not been as rapid as the 
government had desired, what has al- 
ready been accomplished within this 
decade justifies the hope that the time 
is not far distant when China will have 
as large a per cent of her children attend- 
ing schools as any of the western nations 
has now. 



52 CHINESE EDUCATION 

The following table ^ gives (i) the at- 
tendance in the lower primary schools in 
Chili Province for the years 1902-3 to 
1907-8, and (2) the ratio or per cent of 
attendance to the number of children of 
school age. 

Per cent of attendance 
Year Attendance of children 

of school age 
1902-3 1,000 0.0173 

1903-4 6,000 o. 1043 

1904-5 36,344 0632 

1905-6 68,000 1 . 1826 

1906-7 109,467 1 . 9037 

1907-8 148,399 2.5908 

The table is interesting as showing 
the progress that China is making in 
the direction of general education. In 
the year 1907-8 there were in Chili 
Province 8,675 lower primary schools, 
with an attendance of 148,399. Grad- 
uates for the year numbered 537; the 
nimiber of teachers, 8,969, with an average 
of some sixteen pupils for each teacher. 
The cost of educating a pupil during 
the year was about $1.88. For the higher 
primary schools of that year we find 

1 H. E. King, p. 56. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 53 

the following: total ntimber of schools, 
220; total number of students, 10,599; 
number of graduates, 521; average 
number of pupils per teacher, 20.4; 
cost per pupil for the year, $28.23. 
The amount of funds raised that year 
for higher primary schools was $299,320. 
Graduates of higher primary schools 
are recommended for admission to nor- 
mal schools and middle technical schools, 
as well as to the middle or secondary 
schools proper. 

2. Middle Schools 

The government proposes to have a 
middle school established in each Fu,* 
but if any Chou or Hsien can provide 
for such a school, and desires to do so, 
it is allowable; but in the beginning it 
was thought wiser to establish these 
schools only in the Fu cities. Each Fu 
is responsible for financing its own 
school. When the finances of any 

Fu corresponds to the county of America. 



54 CHINESE EDUCATION 

middle schools are managed by the 
magistrate and some of the wealthier 
citizens of that Fu, and it conforms to 
the regulations for the middle schools, 
it is classed as a public middle school. 
Any school established and supported 
by individuals or by a corporation in 
accordance with the regulations of the 
Ministry of Education is entitled to 
the same recognition, privileges, and 
protection as are given to the govern- 
ment institutions and is known as a 
private middle school. Public buildings, 
nunneries, and temples may be used as 
schoolhouses. Not only are graduates 
of the higher primary schools admitted 
to these middle schools, but all others 
who are able to meet the requirements 
for admission. Reports are required 
from these middle schools just as from 
the primary schools. 

The course of study extends through 
five years and embraces the following 
subjects: 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 



55 



Subjects 



Morals 

Drawing 

Physical drill 

Chinese classics 

Mathematics 

Algebra, geometry and 

plane trigonometry. . . 

Chinese and foreign history 

Foreign language 

Chinese literature 

Geography 

Natural science 

Botany 

Zoology 

Physiology 

Mineralogy 

Geology 

Physical science 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Political science and econ- 



omy . 
Total 



First 
Year 



36 



Second 
Year 



36 



Third 
Year 



Fourth 
Year 



36 



36 



Fifth 
Year 



36 



It was soon discovered that the 
curriculum embraced too many studies 
and that on this account the students 
failed to "make good." The Ministry 
in a memorial requested that the course 
of study might be revised and that the 
middle schools, following the methods 
of German schools, offer two courses, 



56 CHINESE EDUCATION 

one a technical course and the other a 
literary course. The memorial was 
granted. The students entering the 
middle school may choose either course. 
In the technical department the major 
requirements are a foreign language, 
mathematics, physics, chemistry, and 
biology. The minor subjects are 
Chinese classics and literature, history, 
geography, drawing, political science, 
and political economy. In the literary 
department the student must take for 
his major work Chinese classics and 
literature; a foreign language (English 
and Japanese are recommended as the 
more important languages), history, and 
geography. His minor subjects are 
mathematics, science, political science 
and political economy, drawing, and 
physical drill. All textbooks, before 
being used in the schools, must have the 
approval of the Ministry of Education. 
The schools are to be supplied with 
suitable laboratories, especially for the 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 57 

teaching of physics and chemistry. 
Charts of all kinds are to be supplied 
for the work in botany, zoology, and 
physiology, and also good maps for 
teaching geography. Dormitories and 
dining rooms, also reading rooms, are to 
be provided for the students in the com- 
pound. An athletic ground is provided 
for the pupils where they have military 
drill and various athletic sports. The in- 
structors of the middle schools are to be 
graduates of the Chinese normal colleges 
or of normal colleges in foreign countries. 
By January, 1908, there were 32 
middle schools in Chili Province, enrolling 
2,125 pupils, and loi pupils had been 
graduated. There were 157 teachers in 
these schools, with an average of 13.5 
pupils per teacher. The examination 
of students of the middle schools for 
promotion to the provincial college is 
held in the presence of the viceroy or 
governor and of the president of the 
Board of Education. 



58 chinese education 

3. Provincial Colleges 

In each provincial capital there has 
been established a higher school, more 
commonly called the provincial college. 
It is organized on lines similar to those 
of the German Gymnasium or the French 
Lycee, In the beginning, owing to lack 
of adequate preparation on the part of 
the students, a preparatory department 
was usually established in connection 
with the college. To-day, however, only 
graduates of the middle schools are 
admitted. The curriculum requires three 
years of thirty-six hours per week. The 
graduates are prepared to take work in 
the colleges of the university at Peking. 
The national system of education pro- 
vides only for the establishment of one 
college in each province, and requires that 
accommodation should be made for at 
least five hundred students, but any col- 
lege may open with two hundred students. 
The finances of a college must be attended 
to by the province in which it is situated. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 



59 



At the end of the second semester of each 
year reports of the college must be sent 
to the provincial Board of Education, 
who in turn make reports to the Ministry 
of Education. The curriculum provides 
for three courses of study. Course A 
prepares students to enter the imperial 
university colleges of Chinese classics, 
political science and law, literature, and 
commerce; Course B prepares for the 
colleges of science, agriculture, and en- 
gineering; Course C prepares for the 
college of medicine. 

Course A 



Subjects 



Ethics 

Chinese classics 

Chinese literature 

English language 

German or French 

History 

Geography 

Oratory , . . 

Law 

Political economy 

Military science 

Military drill and gym- 
nastics 



Total. 



First 


Second 


Year 


Year 


I 


I 


2 


2 


5 


4 


9 


9 


9 


9 


3 


3 


3 


2 




2 


I 


I 


3 


3 


36 


36 



Third 
Year 



36 



6o 



CHINESE EDUCATION 



In place of oratory in the second 
year a student may elect mathematics 
or physics. Students wishing to study 
law may elect two hours of Latin in the 
third year. Those who wish to specialize 
in Chinese classics may take mathematics 
in the second year in place of oratory, 
and physics in the third year in place 
of Chinese literature. 

Course B 



Subjects 



Ethics 

Chinese classics 

Chinese literature 

English language 

German or French 

Mathematics 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Geology and mining 

Drawing 

Military science 

Military drill and gym- 
nastics 



Total. 



First 


Second 


Year 


Year 


I 


I 


2 


2 


3 


2 


8 


7 


8 


7 


5 


4 




3 




3 


4 


3 


2 


I 


3 


3 


36 


36 



Third 
Year 



36 



Those who wish to specialize in botany, 
zoology, or geology, in the scientific 
college, or agriculture, in the third year 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 



6i 



may drop mathematics and substitute 
four hours' work in hne with their 
specialty. Those who wish to speciahze 
in architecture, electrical engineering, 
naval construction, mathematics, physics, 
or astronomy, may drop two hours in 
chemical experiments in the third year 
and substitute in place thereof a three- 
hour course in surveying. In the third 
year a two-hour course in Latin may 
be elected by any who wish to specialize 
in zoology, botany, geology, agriculture, 
and veterinary science. 

Course C 



Subjects 



Ethics 

Chinese classics . . . 
Chinese literature . 
Military science . . . 

Military drill 

Mathematics 

Biology 

German 

English or French . 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Latin 



Total , 



First 


Second 


Year 


Year 


I 


I 


2 


2 


4 


2 


2 


I 


3 


3 


4 


2 


4 


3 


13 


13 


3 


3 




3 


36 


36 



Third 
Year 



36 



62 CHINESE EDUCATION 

It will be seen from the foregoing tables 
that special stress is laid on modern 
language, so that students may read 
foreign books with facility. The great 
number of subjects covered gives the 
curriculum a ' ' bunched' ' character. What 
can be expected from such a course 
of study I am going to dwell on under 
a separate heading. 

The regulations for the colleges require 
dormitories with studies and bedrooms 
provided for the students. Laboratories, 
museums, and libraries are also to be 
provided. A director stands at the head 
of the college. Below him is a president, 
who superintends the work done by the 
teachers and makes recommendations to 
the directors concerning the ways and 
means of bettering the work. 

4. Universities 

The educational code of China provides 
for an imperial university composed of 
eight departments or colleges — (i) 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 63 

Chinese classics; (2) law; (3) literature; 
(4) medicine; (5) sciences; (6) agriculture; 
(7) engineering; (8) commerce — and a 
graduate school to be located at Peking ; 
also such other universities as may be 
established later by the provinces, and 
which shall not be obliged to furnish 
instruction in more than three depart- 
ments as outlined for the imperial uni- 
versity. Thus far there have been 
established, in addition to the imperial 
university, the coping-stone of the whole 
educational system at present, the 
Tientsin University and the Shansi 
University. 

The University Council is composed 
of the president, the deans of all the 
colleges, the professors, and assistant 
professors. The president of the uni- 
versity convokes the University Council 
and presides at its meetings. Faculty 
meetings, composed of all the professors 
and assistant professors, must be held in 
each college. In case of a disagreement 



64 CHINESE EDUCATION 

between the president and the University 
Council in regard to matters concerning 
higher education, the question may be 
referred for settlement to the Ministry 
of Education. All courses offered in 
the colleges cover three years* work, 
except the two courses in the law 
college and the course for physicians in 
the college of medicine, which require 
four years' work. The graduate school, 
or rather the school for independent 
research and investigation, requires five 
years' work. The graduation examina- 
tions are to be held in the presence of 
the president of the Ministry of Edu- 
cation, together with a commissioner 
appointed by the government. High 
honors are bestowed upon the successful 
candidates. 

Such is an outline of the entire twenty- 
five-year course of study outlined for 
the national schools of China. There 
are, besides these schools, normal, 
technical, and miscellaneous schools: — 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 65 

a topic which, for lack of space, shall 
not be considered in this paper. 

5. General Remarks on the New 
Education 

The new system of education in China 
is a matter of but a few years' standing. 
It being still in the infant stage, one 
has, therefore, to be somewhat indulgent 
in passing comments upon it. But 
leaving out of account the inevitable 
mistakes, it has not, in our opinion, 
accomplished as much as it should have 
done. Under the Manchu regime educa- 
tion, that is, the new education, was a 
pure farce. There could be no excuse 
for the inefficiency and the rank rotten- 
ness that characterized the educational 
system. 

Indeed, one may say that the new 
system of education was not in any way 
different from the old, except in name 
or form. Students were craving for 
official honors as were the students under 



66 CHINESE EDUCATION 

the old system. There was no hint 
on their part of the reaHzation of the 
great truth that education is chiefly 
preparation for life — the whole life. 
Chinese classics form the predominating 
element in the curriculimi. The policy 
of the authorities seems to be to preserve 
ancient values and at the same time to 
check dangerous ideas, — -ideas which, 
if adopted, would subvert the social 
order. That this proved futile is shown 
by the fact that the revolution came 
on in spite of these precautions. 

The new education ought to be made 
more practical and scientific. But a 
single glance at it will convince one 
that the reverse is the case. Cramming 
and stuffing are the main features. No 
wonder that no nourishment is absorbed 
from intellectual diet, since there is 
no mastication and digestion. Educa- 
tion becomes identified with the mere 
acquisition of information. The mind 
is conceived as a tabula rasa receiving 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 67 

impressions from without, as would a 
sensitive plate, perfectly inactive and 
passive. It is true that this objection 
is often urged against French and German 
schools, but it applies in China in an 
infinitely greater degree than probably 
in either of the two former countries. 
Not until a more rational basis is applied 
for school curricula can Chinese educa- 
tion succeed in creating men or women 
with capacity for independent research 
and thought. 

As in the intellectual field, so in the 
realm of morals has the new education 
failed. It is true that the program of 
study provides for ethical teaching all 
the way through, but it is generally a 
quackery. Mere oral teaching can never 
succeed in developing strong character. 
Character, as is often said, is caught 
but not taught. True education is 
possible only when teacher and pupil 
enter into an intimate relation, thereby 
allowing the former to come into close 



68 CHINESE EDUCATION 

touch with the inner life of the latter. 
Of course we cannot make religion the 
corner-stone of the educational system, 
as is done in Germany, but some form 
of religious and moral instruction must 
be given; not simply by word of mouth, 
but also through personal example. 
While religious instruction is not given 
in American public schools, its deficiency 
is supplied in most of the students' 
families. The importance of the fact 
can hardly be overemphasized that a 
new criterion for judging conduct should 
come in China to take the place of the 
old moral and religious sanctions which 
are now fast passing away. This is 
one of the greatest problems that con- 
front Chinese education to-day. 



VII 

EDUCATIONAL CHANGES UNDER THE 
REPUBLICAN REGIME 

'T'HE overthrow of the Manchu Dy- 
nasty removed a great barrier in 
the way of the development of educa- 
tion in China. The new government 
has taken up the question of educational 
reform in a way which justifies one in 
hoping that the defects mentioned above 
will in time be eliminated. In this 
part of the paper we shall briefly consider 
the reform measures that have been 
adopted by the new government in the 
field of education. 

The educational aim as formulated and 
promulgated by the new government 
is, in respect to general education, to 
secure adaptation to environment and 
such development of the character of 
the people as will fit them for citizen- 
ship in a democratic country, and, as 
69 



70 CHINESE EDUCATION 

regards technical education, to secure 
such a blending of knowledge and tech- 
nical skill and morality on the part 
of the students as will enable them to 
contribute toward national advancement 
along various lines. The stress is laid 
on moral instruction, supplemented by 
industrial and military training. 

All technical education shall be placed 
under the direct control of the Ministry 
of Education, and all general education 
under the control of local agencies, as 
well as of the Board of Education. 
Efforts shall be made to encourage the 
establishment of private institutions. 
The funds for the technical education 
shall be supplied by the central govern- 
ment, and the property owned by the 
government in the form of public lands 
may be used as an endowment fund. 
But the funds for general education 
shall be derived from local taxes, and 
the local public property may be used 
as endowment. The question of the 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 71 

unification of local dialects as a basis 
and means for securing national unity 
has also been taken up, and some advance 
has been made in that direction. On 
every hand one can see indications of 
a real determination on the part of the 
new government to put the educational 
system on a sound basis. 

It has been decided that, in addition 
to the university at Peking, there shall 
be established three more universities — 
one each in the cities of Nanking, Wu- 
Chang, and Canton, thus making four 
great educational centers. Only gradu- 
ates of provincial colleges will be, as 
heretofore, admitted to these universities. 
When carried out, it will be a great step 
forward. 

In addition to these universities there 
will soon be established six higher normal 
schools for men and two for women. 
This is a clear indication that the new 
government is coming to appreciate the 
fact that professional training for teachers 



72 CHINESE EDUCATION 

underlies the success of any educational 
scheme. 

As we have already seen, boys and 
girls were educated in different schools 
under the old Manchu regime. It has 
now been decided that this system will 
be abolished, and that all lower and 
higher primary schools shall be coeduca- 
tional institutions. 

Moreover, that the new government 
recognizes the importance of simplifying 
the Chinese language which is now, 
owing to its ciunbersome character, a 
great barrier in the way of diffusing 
intelligence, is indicated by the fact 
that an alphabet consisting of thirty-nine 
letters has been adopted as a basis for 
carrying out this important task. One 
may hope, therefore, that ere long the 
babel of tongues that now exists will 
be replaced by one uniform language. 

That the new government is going to 
make teachers of elementary schools 
civil servants is attested by the fact 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 73 

that a pension system has been intro- 
duced as an integral part of the educa- 
tional system. This is evidently in line 
with the centralized system of education 
that China has adopted. In America 
no pensions, as a rule, are awarded to 
the teachers, while in Germany and 
France the teachers, being civil servants, 
are entitled to pensions. It has been 
decided that an elementary teacher who 
has to retire on account of overwork, 
deformity, or other cause after five 
years' service is entitled to a certain 
amount of pension, determined and paid 
by the local community. The amount 
is not to exceed two fifths of the salary 
he received in the last year. 

In case of death of the teacher, after 
five years of service, the widow is en- 
titled to one fifth of the salary her 
husband received in the last year. If 
death takes place after ten years of 
service, the allowance may rise to two 
fifths of the salary. 



74 CHINESE EDUCATION 

There are other changes of rainor 
importance that have been proposed, 
and all these come from an earnest 
desire for educational reform. What 
little has been achieved holds out prom- 
ise that greater things will yet come in 
the near future. The new Ministry, 
as opposed to the old, becomes, so to 
speak, conscious and reflective. It is 
no longer in the somnolent state, as 
was the old. It is this fact that makes 
one sanguine about the prospect of 
Chinese education. 



VIII 

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS 

T^E HAVE thus far traced the general 
development of Chinese education 
up to the present time. It is now in order 
for us to look forward and venture a 
few remarks concerning elements that 
are to be desired in the future educational 
system of China. 

The first question on the admmistra- 
tive side that immediately presents itself 
is, which of the two systems of education 

— the centralized and the decentralized 

— should China adopt? The present 
tendency is, as already indicated, toward 
centralization. But is this the better 
of the two? May there not rather be 
a proper balance of both systems? To 
answer this question we have briefly 
to consider the relative merits and de- 
merits of both. In general it may be 
said that centralization asstires uniformity 

75 



76 CHINESE EDUCATION 

in the school system of the state, elim- 
inates school administration from local 
politics, and helps to bring a higher 
grade of talent into educational admin- 
istration. All these advantages are 
realized in France and Germany. On 
the other hand, decentralization gives 
opportunity for individual initiative, per- 
mits instant adaptation to local needs, 
and, above all, favors the participation 
of all the interested social factors in 
the administration of education, thus 
helping to bring the school into harmony 
with society. The advantages of the 
one system are the disadvantages of 
the other, and vice versa. The advan- 
tages of centralization are realized in 
countries like France and Germany, 
those of decentralization in America. 
The fact that either extreme is inade- 
quate, and that it is possible to secure 
such a blending of the two that the 
benefits of both may be retained without 
sacrificing the important advantages of 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 77 

either, is proved by the circumstance 
that France and Germany are moving 
toward decentraHzation and centraHza- 
tion is making progress in America. 

But how is this to be brought about? 
The question will be answered with 
particular reference to the conditions 
in China. 

Education may be divided into two 
classes, namely, general and technical 
education . The aim of general or national 
education is to make citizens, to bring 
them en rapport with their whole en- 
vironment. ''Every school is a machine 
deliberately contrived for the manu- 
facture of citizens,'* says R. E. Hughes.^ 
For the realization of this ideal, no 
definite rules can be laid down as to 
whether centralization or decentraliza- 
tion is to be adopted. This can be deter- 
mined only by the national ideals and 
the political and social conditions of a 
country. The ideals of American govem- 

1 The Making of Citizens, p. 4. 



78 CHINESE EDUCATION 

ment are in favor of decentralization, 
but if it should be transferred to Europe 
she would probably have to adopt some- 
thing like centralization, yielding to the 
pressure of circumstances. To inculcate 
common ideals, to develop habits of 
disciplined obedience to law and author- 
ity, calls for a centralized system of edu- 
cation and can never be accomplished 
where there is lack of symmetry and 
uniformity in school administration. In 
China the general political situation, the 
necessity for removing provincialism and 
substituting in its place a national con- 
sciousness, the need for a national lan- 
guage instead of the present babel of 
tongues, the importance of having com- 
mon national ideals, especially in respect 
to political problems — all these things 
demand that general popular education 
be placed under direct supervision of the 
Ministry of Education. As to the details 
of a centralized scheme, we would offer 
the following suggestions : 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 79 

In the first place, as far as school 
administration is conceived, it seems to 
us that the German system should be 
adopted, with such modifications as to 
make it suit the conditions in China. In 
each province there should be a commis- 
sioner of education, appointed by the 
Board of Education, who should act at 
the same time as the president or head 
of the provincial school board. His 
duties should be to act as a sort of official 
intermediary between the central and 
local authorities in Chinese education,^ 
and to have general supervision of all 
the schools in the province, especially 
of the higher grades of schools. 

Each province is to be divided into 
prefectures, ^ the number of which should 
depend upon the size of the province. 
Each is to have a school board of at least 



1 This is not the case in China to-day There the 
provincial superintendent cannot communicate directly 
with the central authorities, and can only do that through 
the medium of the provincial governor. 

^ A prefecture corresponds to the county of America. 



8o CHINESE EDUCATION 

six officers, appointed by the Commis- 
sioner of Education. One third of the 
members of these boards are to go out of 
office every three years and another 
one third appointed to take their place, 
so that there will be always some men 
on the staff who are acquainted with 
the actual condition of affairs at any time. 
Their main duty will be the supervision 
of primary and middle schools. 

Further, each of these prefectures is to 
be subdivided into districts. The dis- 
trict school boards are to be appointed 
in the same way as are those in the pre- 
fecture, and should consist of three offi- 
cers. The district magistrate is to serve 
as the head of the school board ex officio; 
so that, including the magistrate, there 
will be four men on the staff. Their 
duty is to supervise all the primary 
schools in the district. 

As to the inspection of the schools, the 
inspectors, we think, should be appointed 
by the Minister of Education and sent 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 8i 

out to the various provinces in groups of 
three or four. This system has the 
advantage of precluding the rise of any 
such evils as ''wire pulling'* and the like, 
that might appear if men chosen by local 
authorities were to serve as inspectors. 

The decision that has been reached by 
the new government as to the matter of 
school finance is very good and falls in 
line with a centralized scheme of edu- 
cation.^ 

There is probably nothing so unsatis- 
factory about the present primary school 
system in China as the deplorable condi- 
tion of most of the school buildings. 
There seems to be no effort made on the 
part of local authorities to look into the 
physical needs of the children. Radical 
changes should therefore be made in 
this direction. Definite requirements 
should be laid down concerning ventila- 
tion, heating, and other details of school 
hygiene. Gymnastic apparatus should 

1 See p. 70. 



82 CHINESE EDUCATION 

be provided. All these things must not 
be left to the whims and caprices of 
local authorities, who are often dishonest 
and deficient in civil virtues. An objec- 
tive standard should be set up to which 
they should conform. 

Conformably to a centralized system, 
the power to draw up and prescribe 
courses of study should be left in the 
hands of the state. Any books written 
by individuals for the use of students in 
the lower grades of schools as textbooks 
should have the approval of the Board 
of Education. As already indicated, 
China needs certain common national 
ideals. The best means to the end is a 
certain degree of uniformity in school 
curricula. 

The next thing that demands our 
attention in a centralized scheme is that 
concerning school attendance. A law 
of compulsory attendance, should be 
passed and enforced. The law should 
provide that children be compelled to 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 83 

attend school between six and fourteen 
years of age, and that their parents or 
guardians be responsible for any viola- 
tion thereof. To help enforce this law, 
registers should be placed in the schools, 
and the name of the children who are 
absent should be noted daily. The data 
gathered from these records should be 
sent annually to the Board of Education, 
and there utilized for statistical purposes. 
In this way the people would gradually 
become reconciled to the situation, and 
the habit of school attendance would 
become, in course of time, automatic and 
habitual. 

Of course, several conditions have to 
be fulfilled to realize the scheme here 
suggested. It presupposes, in the first 
place, a sufficiently large number of 
schools to make them accessible to the 
children in all parts of the country. 
Again, the financial condition of parents 
is to be taken into account. Even if 
primary education could be made free, 



84 CHINESE EDUCATION 

which is at present practically impossible 
owing to the unsatisfactory financial 
condition of China, that alone would 
not guarantee regularity of attendance. 
In the homes of the poor the children 
are expected not only to support them- 
selves but to contribute toward the sup- 
port of their parents as well. And when 
one comes to think of the tremendous 
amount of inertia or passive resistance 
that has to be overcome, one cannot fail 
to note the fact that a great many obsta- 
cles stand in the way of carrying out 
successfully a system of comoulsory edu- 
cation in China. 

Finally, a system of centralization 
demands that teachers acquire a sense 
of the national importance of their 
work. Their tenure of office should be 
made secure, and a pension system, as 
the new government has come to know 
already, should be adopted. They should 
be treated as civil servants. Every 
effort should be put forth to draw to the 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 85 

teaching profession the best intelligence 
and the noblest character that can be 
secured. 

The question of professional training 
for teachers should receive special atten- 
tion. All secondary teachers should re- 
ceive at least a college or a normal-school 
education, while primaiy teachers should 
be chosen from among graduates of 
secondary or normal schools. 

All teachers should possess such quali- 
ties as sympathy, devotion to duty, per- 
sonal magnetism, and the like; they 
should have a thorough knowledge of 
the subjects they teach, a good general 
education, and some knowledge of the 
subjects that are connected with their 
profession, such as pedagogy, the prin- 
ciples of education, and the history of 
education. 

The best way to choose teachers is 
through a competitive examination, which 
should be conducted under the auspices 
of an examination committee appointed 



86 CHINESE EDUCATION 

by the Commissioner of Education. The 
examination may consist of two parts — 
oral and written. The successful candi- 
dates should be assigned to various 
grades of schools, according to their abil- 
ity and the quality of their training. 

This is an outline of what we think 
should be done in connection with a 
centralized system. But along with this 
scheme of centralization there should be 
provided as much elbow room for local 
initiative as circvimstances permit. Edu- 
cation should be socialized or "localized/* 
as well as nationalized. In the words of 
C. H. Thurber, ^ "Intellectual affairs grow 
and flourish best where a warm interest 
is felt for them, but this interest is 
enduring and effectual only when those 
who share it are not mere spectators, 
but are also fellow workers. '* 

Further, while national education 
should be put mainly under the control 
of the central authorities, the agencies 

1 The Principles oj School Organization, p. 21. 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 87 

of higher education, such as universities, 
technical schools, and the like, should 
remain independent of the Board of 
Education. Decentralization should be 
the rule in the case of higher education. 
Universities, being places for original 
research and investigation, should be 
free from all implication in political 
changes and shiftings. They should be 
controlled by a Board of Trustees, inde- 
pendent of the central government. Thus 
only can a university or a technical 
school remain unaffected by whatever 
changes may come in the personnel of 
the Board of Education. Decentraliza- 
tion in higher education has this further 
advantage, that it introduces a spirit 
of rivalry between different schools, cre- 
ating among them an ambition to excel 
each other in making contributions to- 
ward himian knowledge. 

In addition to the question of centrali- 
zation or decentralization, there are other 
problems waiting for solution. One of 



88 CHINESE EDUCATION 

these has to do with the correlation of 
studies, that is, how to arrange the two 
categories of studies, natural and human- 
istic, so as to secure the greatest possible 
degree of many-sidedness. 

As we have already indicated, the edu- 
cation of China is yet in its infant stage. 
Many things have yet to be done to set 
it upon a satisfactory basis. In its course 
of development many mistakes will prob- 
ably be made, even though precautions 
are taken. But China has this advan- 
tage over the more developed nations, 
that she can, by studying their educa- 
tional history, avoid some errors, at 
least, which she could not otherwise do. 
China is free to appropriate such ele- 
ments in the systems of Europe and 
America as will suit her special needs 
and idiosyncrasies. 

Educational reform in China forms the 
pivot around which all other reforms 
turn. It is to education that China 
looks for the supply of those men and 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 89 

women who are able to steer the Ship of 
State into the haven of safety. We shall, 
therefore, conclude this paper with the 
words of R. E. Hughes :' ^' The school of 
to-morrow will aim to produce mental 
alertness in its pupils, and to supply the 
nation with a corps of trained intelli- 
gences. The national strength and great- 
ness will be estimated in terms of trained 
intelHgence, not of bullion or acreage.'* 

1 The Making of CitizenSy p. 395. 



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Brinkley, C. F., China — Its History, Art, and 
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Brown, E. E. , Our Middle Schools. London, 1 9 1 o. 

Brown, J. F., American High School. New 
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Faber, E., The Mind of Mencius. Translated 
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Farrington, F. E., French Secondary and Ele- 
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Giles, H. A., China and Chinese. New York, 
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Giles, H. A., Chinese Four Books. London, 1898. 

HiRTH, F., The Ancient History of China. New 
York, 1900. 

HoLLisTER, H. A., High School Administration. 
Boston, 1909. 

Hughes, R. E., The Making of Citizens. New 
York, 1904. 

King, H. E., The Education System of China as 
Recently Constructed. The United States De- 
partment of Education. Washington, 1 9 1 1 . 

90 



THE WESTERN VIEWPOINT 91 

Legge, J., The Chinese Classics. Translated in 

Max Mailer's Sacred Books of the East. 

London, 1885. 
Martin, W. A. P., Awakening oj China. New 

York, 1907. 
Martin, W. A. P., The Lore of Cathay. New 

York, 1 90 1. 
Martin, W. A. P., Chinese Education. The 

United States Department of Education, 

(Washington, 1905, Vol. I; 1908, Vol. I; 

1909, Vol. I). 
Monroe, P., History of Education. New York, 

1911. 
Monroe, P., Cyclopedia of Education. New 

York, 1911, Vols. I, II. 
Russell, J. E., German Higher School. New 

York, 1899. 
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In addition to the above secondary sources, I have 
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JUL 6 1913 



